Canadian held in Dutch Jail for the US

By
Reverend Damuzi
on September 26, 2002

Patty RobertsPatty Roberts’ marijuana smuggling case has been in Canadian courts for three years, but he is currently being held in a Dutch jail for extradition by US authorities after being pulled off a plane by police in early September. While he scratches another line on the wall of his cell to count the days, many others are scratching their heads over what to do with him.
Although Canada has been prosecuting him, Roberts was originally charged by both Canadian and US authorities in 1999 after an investigation by multinational anti-drug forces that include the US DEA and Canadian RCMP. The dual charges raise issues of double jeopardy, a no-no in the Canadian legal system. Roberts says he is one of the first to be charged by both countries for the same offense.

From his Dutch cell, Roberts argues that he has a right to finish his case in Canada, and is asking Holland to send him back. Dutch legal experts predict that Roberts will be extradited to the US unless Canadian prosecutors step in to botch heavy-handed US drug prosecutors by filing their own extradition warrant.Patty Roberts